Air filter inspection questions

[chinesedawn]

hehe.... the filter come with the car when I bought it so I don't really know how old it is, I felt my car don't have enough power so I checked the air filter and spark plugs, it looks really old but not that dirty when I pull it out(I can't see red color at all even after I clean it, the filter supposed be red I think) and then I realize the spark plugs more likely is the main problem...."They are swimming in the oil"

Do I have to change the air filte? Any good suggestions what brand is better and not too expensive? Actually I think( just I think) the normal one is good enough for 7mge, if my old K&N need to retire.

And!! All my spark plugs are all in the oil, no misfire, could it be the problem of my supra poor accleration( it is OK but compare to others....) and eat lots of gas in short trip? ( that is the only problem I have, the engine runs smooth and no noise, no DTC.....the feel of my 7mge just like a brand new 4 cyclinder engine, runs good but not enough HP and Torque....)

Last, how important it is about the fuel injector's oil ring seals, when I rebuild my engine the gasket set doesn't go with fuel injector seals, my bose ready to kick my out of shop at that time, I try to hurry so I didn't change them with the new one, I checked all the seals , no damage but the rubber is little bit hard which I don't know they suppose like that or not.

[cre]

Personally, I'd replace that filter. It looks rather threadbare which is unacceptable. I've never seen them in any color other than red either... They may have been washing it in bleach which would have contributed to the degradation of the filter medium.

My preference is either Apex'i or AEM... I've heard really good things about Amsoil's EaO filters too, but I have no experience with them. You will need a different adapter for any of these to mount to the AFM.. You can get a simple adapter on eBay for just a few dollars. I would use a silicone coupler and a piece of pipe to put the filter out of the engine bay below the headlight.

The oil around the spark plugs is most commonly due to leaking valve covers. If it gets past the sealing boot of the plug wire it'll cause misfires and loss of power.

The O-rings on the outlet side of the injector aren't going to kill anything if they're hard. They're an air barrier. They prevent pirate air from entering the system there (or escaping when the manifold is under pressure in a turbo engine). If you can hear air hissing then the leak is large enough that it should be addressed... but on a relatively stock N/A I wouldn't sweat it.